The Miz sits down with Metro in a no holds barred exclusive interview to chat Royal Rumble, idols, music, coming from reality TV, and his dream opponent.

The Miz will be taking part in this year’s WWE Royal Rumble (Picture: Getty)

Youâre the first man in to Sundayâs 30-man Royal Rumble. Big task, no?Yes it is a big task, thanks for reminding me. But I see it as âyeah, Iâm no.1, now I can break a recordâ. And the record I want to break is not only being the longest entrant in a Rumble ever â and winning â but also throwing 29 other people over the top rope. No one has ever done that before, and I plan on doing that this Sunday.

You werenât involved in the Rumble last year as you were fighting Randy Orton. Do you think youâre out of practice?No, the Rumble is basically stamina. Itâs also using your brain. When Big Show or the other big guys come in, stay in the corner, duck down, and donât do anything. When their back is turned, you throw them over. Thatâs the object of the Rumble; to be as sneaky and devious as possible. Make friends for a little bit and then throw that friend over the top rope.

Youâve had a few issues keeping tag partners. Why do you think that is?Iâve had the issues?! Or theyâve had the issues?! I have brought my tag partners up to my level. Out of the goodness of my heart Iâve brought up Alex Riley, the Big Show, John Morrison and R-Truth, and what to they do? Let me down by not coming up to my level. They try to bring me down and I donât like it, so I get rid of them!

If you had to face anyone at Wrestlemania, past or present, dead or alive, who would it be? LeBron James . Iâm from Cleveland, Ohio. LeBron said he was going to bring an NBA Championship to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland suck at most sports, but finally we had this basketball savior, and what does he do? Backstabs us and goes to Miami Heat! Miami is where Wrestlemania will be, so Iâd like to face him.

Whatâs the best thing youâve ever received from a fan?God, Iâve received letters, underwear, sports cards of me, posters. Thereâs this one piece of artwork this guy sent me which must have taken him months, and itâs this huge poster of Pro Wrestling Illustrated rating me as No.1. That was a huge feat for me because these were the people who were saying I sucked and that I should be fired, and they ranked me No.1 out of 500. Thatâs kind of a nice thing and someone painted that cool thing for me.

You came in to WWE through Tough Enough (wrestling X Factor) – what was the biggest challenge?Being categorised as a reality star. WWE is like a fraternity. If youâre an outsider they donât want you, and they didnât want me. Whether it was in the locker room or out in the audience, they hated me because I was a reality star, but through hard work I think Iâve built enough of a repertoire where people realise Iâm here to stay.

Who thought of your jazzy old ring attire?My first outfit I actually did myself. I painted it and did all the artwork on my own. Then I got a seamstress and she took my ideas and made it what it was. I just wanted to be the most annoying person possible and I think I succeeded at it.

Who would win a fight between a brown bear and a polar bear?Brown bear. Itâs grizzly, itâs rugged and there are more of them!

Whoâs your favourite sports star of all time?Football, Dan Marino. Baseball was Jose Canseco. Now my favourite sports star would have to be The Miz, because he is incredible.

If you could reach the top of any other sport what would it be?Iâm at the sport where I want to be the top at, but I guess if I had to choose another one it would be football. American, not your soccer!

Did you choose your own entrance music?Yeah, there was a bunch of options. There was rapping that sounded like bad Run DMC. Then there was bad Kid Rock, then finally they got Down State to do âI Came To Playâ and it was perfect.

Whatâs The Miz listening to at the moment?Favourite band of all time is a native from England â Def Leppard. Lately though, Iâve been listening to Volbeat.

Volbeat? Never heard of them!You will!

Whoâs your biggest idol in the WWE of all-time?The Miz.

I walked into that one! A close second?When I watch his matches now I go âoh those were disgustingâ, but growing up it had to be Ultimate Warrior. I used to put streamers on my arms as a kid, run around with his make-up on me driving my mum nuts. Then in the Attitude era it had to be The Rock.

If John Cena can be seen as the face of WWE, CM Punk the voice, The Rock as the most electrifying man in sports entertainment, what are you?The most must-see WWE Champion of all time. They can all be the face, or the voice, but if youâre not seen then it doesnât really matter.

The Miz will be contending at WWE Royal Rumble – live and exclusive on Sky Sports Box Office on Sunday night January 29th at 1am.